Two feared dead, 17 hurt after Japan mass stabbing

Rescue workers operate at the site where more than a dozen people were stabbed on a street in Kawasaki, Japan. Photo handout via Reuters

Two people, including a child, were feared dead Tuesday in a mass stabbing attack that also injured 17 people in the Japanese city of Kawasaki, the local fire department said.

"One man and one female child are showing no vital signs, said fire department official Yuji Sekizawa, employing a phrase commonly used in Japan to mean the victims have died but the death has not yet been certified by an official medical professional.

Footage broadcast on local TV stations showed multiple police cars, ambulances and fire engines at the scene. Emergency medical tents were put up to treat the wounded.

The fire department said 17 others were injured in the attack, among them more children.